The Other Side of the Florida Keys: Secret Islands and Shores

Most visitors to the Florida Keys follow the same route — Key Largo, Islamorada, then straight to the bars of Key West. But between the Overseas Highway’s famous bridges lies a chain of quieter islands where the pace slows down and the water turns an impossible shade of turquoise that rivals anything in the Caribbean.

Bahia Honda Key is home to what’s consistently ranked among the best beaches in the United States — a stretch of white sand with crystal-clear water and an old railroad bridge that frames every sunset like a postcard. Further south, Big Pine Key is where you’ll spot tiny Key deer wandering through residential streets and find kayak trails through untouched mangrove channels where manatees surface just feet from your paddle. Skip the tourist traps of Mallory Square and instead take a boat to the Dry Tortugas — a remote national park 70 miles offshore where a massive Civil War-era fort rises from the sea, surrounded by some of the best snorkeling in North America.

The Keys aren’t just a drive-through destination — they’re a place to anchor down, rent a waterfront villa, and discover why the locals never seem to leave.